Cruel Britannia

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Cruel Britannia Cruel Britannia British Complicity in the Torture and Ill-treatment of Terror Suspects in Pakistan Copyright © 2009 Human Rights Watch All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America ISBN: 1-56432-571-7 Cover design by Rafael Jimenez Human Rights Watch 350 Fifth Avenue, 34th floor New York, NY 10118-3299 USA Tel: +1 212 290 4700, Fax: +1 212 736 1300 [email protected] Poststraße 4-5 10178 Berlin, Germany Tel: +49 30 2593 06-10, Fax: +49 30 2593 0629 [email protected] Avenue des Gaulois, 7 1040 Brussels, Belgium Tel: + 32 (2) 732 2009, Fax: + 32 (2) 732 0471 [email protected] 64-66 Rue de Lausanne 1202 Geneva, Switzerland Tel: +41 22 738 0481, Fax: +41 22 738 1791 [email protected] 2-12 Pentonville Road, 2nd Floor London N1 9HF, UK Tel: +44 20 7713 1995, Fax: +44 20 7713 1800 [email protected] 27 Rue de Lisbonne 75008 Paris, France Tel: +33 (1)43 59 55 35, Fax: +33 (1) 43 59 55 22 [email protected] 1630 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Suite 500 Washington, DC 20009 USA Tel: +1 202 612 4321, Fax: +1 202 612 4333 [email protected] Web Site Address: http://www.hrw.org November 2009 1-56432-571-7 Cruel Britannia British Complicity in the Torture and Ill-treatment of Terror Suspects in Pakistan Summary ........................................................................................................................... 1 Key Recommendations ....................................................................................................... 8 Methodology ...................................................................................................................... 9 I. Background ................................................................................................................... 10 Torture and related abuses in Pakistan .......................................................................... 10 Official UK and US reporting on human rights in Pakistan .............................................. 13 II. British Involvement in Cases of Torture in Pakistan ........................................................ 17 Salahuddin Amin ........................................................................................................... 19 Zeeshan Siddiqui ......................................................................................................... 24 ZZ (name withheld) ...................................................................................................... 28 Rangzieb Ahmed .......................................................................................................... 30 Rashid Rauf .................................................................................................................. 34 III. Torture Under UK and International Law ....................................................................... 36 IV. Recommendations ....................................................................................................... 44 Acknowledgements .......................................................................................................... 46 Summary A key lesson from the past eight years of global efforts to combat terrorism is that the use of torture and ill-treatment is deeply counterproductive. It undermines the moral legitimacy of governments who rely on it and serves as a recruiting sergeant for terrorist organizations. This is recognized in the UK government’s counterterrorism strategy, “CONTEST II,” which asserts that the protection of human rights is central and that the UK’s response to terrorism will be based on the rule of law. However, this principled and pragmatic assertion of core values is being undermined by the official whitewash surrounding the complicity of UK intelligence and security agencies in torture in Pakistan, with ministers repeatedly rejecting calls for an independent judicial inquiry from a cross-party parliamentary committee and human rights nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) alike. Research by Human Rights Watch and path-breaking investigative reporting by The Guardian newspaper makes it clear that British hands are not clean. The refusal of the government to order an independent and transparent investigation has been an important missed opportunity. This report provides accounts from victims and their families about the cases of five UK citizens of Pakistani origin—Salahuddin Amin, Zeeshan Siddiqui, Rangzieb Ahmed, Rashid Rauf and a fifth individual who wishes to remain anonymous—tortured in Pakistan between 2004 and 2007. The men were tortured and ill-treated by the military-controlled Inter- Services Intelligence (ISI) agency, the civilian-controlled Intelligence Bureau (IB), or other Pakistani security agencies. Their abuse was part of a longstanding pattern of routine, systematic torture by the Pakistani authorities that has been extensively documented. The accuracy of their accounts of mistreatment has been confirmed by Pakistani and British security and intelligence officials. Primary responsibility for the use of torture against these individuals lies with the Pakistani authorities. No one in Pakistan has been held accountable. The Pakistani authorities have not prosecuted or disciplined any security officers alleged to have been involved in these incidents, or indeed in any other of the myriad cases of torture. There is no sign that they have even initiated any inquiries. While deeply disappointing, this is hardly surprising— Pakistani and international human rights groups, lawyers, the media, the US State Department, and the United Nations have long documented torture, arbitrary arrests and detention, enforced disappearances, and other human rights abuses by Pakistani government security forces and intelligence agencies taking place with complete impunity. 1 Human Rights Watch | November 2009 In Pakistan, torture often follows illegal abductions or “disappearances” by the ISI, other intelligence agencies, the military, or other security services. These practices are systematic and routine, whether in ordinary criminal matters to obtain confessions or information, against political and ideological opponents, or in more sensitive intelligence and counterterrorism cases. Human Rights Watch has no evidence of UK officials directly participating in torture. But UK complicity is clear. First, it is inconceivable that the UK government was unaware of the systematic use of torture in Pakistan. In the circumstances of the close security relationship between the two countries this would represent a significant failure of British intelligence. Reports by governments, including the United States, reports by NGOs, including Human Rights Watch, court cases in Pakistan, and media accounts put everyone on notice that torture has long been endemic in Pakistan. No one in government in Pakistan has ever challenged this in conversations with Human Rights Watch. Second, UK officials engaged in acts that virtually required that they knew about the use of torture in specific cases. Four men—Salahuddin Amin, Zeeshan Siddiqui, Rangzieb Ahmed, and an individual who wishes to remain anonymous—have described meeting British officials while detained in Pakistan. In some cases this happened shortly after sessions in which the individuals had been tortured, when it was likely that clear and visible signs of torture were present. For example, Rangzieb Ahmed alleges that he was interrogated by British security officials shortly after three fingernails had been pulled out. Further, UK officials supplied questions and lines of enquiry to Pakistan intelligence sources in cases in which detainees were tortured. UK officials knew that interrogations of these UK citizens were taking place and that torture was routinely used in interrogations. The UK was also putting pressure on Pakistani authorities for results. In this environment, passing questions and offering other cooperation in such cases without ensuring that the detainees were treated appropriately was an invitation to abuse. Members of Pakistani intelligence agencies have corroborated Human Rights Watch’s information from detainees that British officials were aware of specific cases of mistreatment. They have said that British officials knew that Pakistani intelligence agencies routinely tortured detained terror suspects—what Pakistani officers described to Human Rights Watch as being “processed” in the “traditional way.” Officials describe being under immense pressure from the UK and the United States to “perform” in the “war on terror,” and have noted “we do what we are asked to do.” Pakistani intelligence sources described Salahuddin Amin, for example, as a “high pressure” case, saying that the British (and Cruel Britannia 2 American) agents involved were “perfectly aware that we were using all means possible to extract information from him and were grateful that we were doing so.” Not only do British officials and agents appear to have been complicit in torture, but their cooperation in the unlawful conduct of the ISI has interfered with attempts to prosecute terrorist suspects in British courts. Rashid Rauf, the alleged mastermind of plans for a second 9/11 involving planes departing Heathrow airport in London, was tortured so badly that British officials quickly realized he could not be prosecuted in a British court. His guilt or innocence has never been established, and never will, since he was reportedly killed in a US drone missile strike in Pakistan in November 2008. If he was indeed guilty, the failure to bring Rauf to justice represents an enormous missed opportunity for intelligence
Recommended publications
  • Salahuddin Amin -V
    Neutral Citation Number: [2013] EWHC 1579 (QB) Case No: HQ09X03332 IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE QUEEN'S BENCH DIVISION Royal Courts of Justice Strand, London, WC2A 2LL Date: 26 June 2013 Before: MR JUSTICE IRWIN - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Between: SALAHUDDIN AMIN Claimant - and - (1) THE DIRECTOR GENERAL OF THE SECURITY SERVICE [MI5] (2) THE CHIEF OF THE SECRET INTELLIGENCE SERVICE [MI6] (3) THE FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH OFFICE (4) THE HOME OFFICE (5) THE ATTORNEY GENERAL Defendants - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Patrick O’Connor QC and Danny Friedman QC (instructed by Bhatt Murphy) for the Claimant Rory Phillips QC and Jonathan Hall (instructed by the Treasury Solicitor) for the Defendants Hearing dates: 12 and 13 December 2012 FURTHER SUBMISSIONS MADE IN WRITING: 21 December 2012 and 17 January 2013 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - OPEN Judgment Approved by the court for handing down Judgment Approved by the court for handing down Amin v DG of Security Service & Ors (subject to editorial corrections) Mr Justice Irwin: Introduction 1. The Defendants seek to strike out the Particulars of Claim in this case as representing an abuse of process. The core point arising is whether the claim represents an unacceptable collateral attack on the rulings of Sir Michael Astill, sitting as a Deputy High Court Judge in the Claimant’s criminal trial at the Central Criminal Court in 2006. Factual Background 2. The Claimant is of dual UK and Pakistani nationality. He was born on 3rd March 1975. From November 2001 to April 2004 he was living in Pakistan. [Redaction] 3. On 3rd March 2004, following advice from his uncle, a retired Pakistani brigadier, the Claimant surrendered himself voluntarily to the Pakistani authorities.
    [Show full text]
  • Render Unto Caesar Remains, Despite Being Approved for at Release in 2007
    E 2002 to Guantánamo where he Render unto Caesar remains, despite being approved for AT release in 2007. He cannot be ST deported to his native Algeria, where Scott Poynting details the British state’s he faces certain torture, and the UK involvement in kidnapping and torture. has meanwhile rejected his asylum application. Former British resident Farhi Saeed bin Mohammed was BRITISH seized in Pakistan in December 2001 he violence of the British state previously because of ‘record errors’ after fleeing Afghanistan, rendered to in the global ‘war on terror’ is a (The Sunday Times, 21 February Guantánamo in February 2002, and THE Tform of state crime, but as 2008). incriminated by evidence of Binyam these crimes are largely committed Instances of British security Mohamed under torture (see below). OF as a ‘junior partner’ in the unlawful services’ abetting foreign intelligence He won a habeas corpus case in violence of a US-led empire’s agencies to seize ‘suspect’ British 2009, but cannot be repatriated to counter-terrorism, they are better citizens and residents usually only his birthplace Algeria for likelihood understood as ‘empire crime’. This come to light with allegations about of torture there and remains article considers three levels of mistreatment or torture: that is, with incarcerated in Guantánamo. complicity by the British state with the second level of complicity. The Other cases, which space precludes detailing here, include VIOLENCE such empire crime. The first level is ‘we didn’t know’ defence is often the willing facilitation of state deployed by the state in these cases, Bisher al-Rawi, Jamil el-Banna, kidnapping, either through as with the servicing of rendition Richard Belmar, Omar Deghayes, intelligence advice identifying flights, but is less credible here in and Martin Mubanga, all of whom, ‘terrorism suspects’ for unlawful cases of countries and security with Binyam Mohamed, are suing arrest, or by providing landing and services with well-known records of the British government for abuse and refuelling for clandestine flights torture.
    [Show full text]
  • Policing Terrorism
    Policing Terrorism A Review of the Evidence Darren Thiel Policing Terrorism A Review of the Evidence Darren Thiel Policing Terrorism A Review of the Evidence Darren Thiel © 2009: The Police Foundation All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior permission of The Police Foundation. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Police Foundation. Enquires concerning reproduction should be sent to The Police Foundation at the address below. ISBN: 0 947692 49 5 The Police Foundation First Floor Park Place 12 Lawn Lane London SW8 1UD Tel: 020 7582 3744 www.police-foundation.org.uk Acknowledgements This Review is indebted to the Barrow Cadbury Trust which provided the grant enabling the work to be conducted. The author also wishes to thank the academics, researchers, critics, police officers, security service officials, and civil servants who helped formulate the initial direction and content of this Review, and the staff at the Police Foundation for their help and support throughout. Thanks also to Tahir Abbas, David Bayley, Robert Beckley, Craig Denholm, Martin Innes and Bob Lambert for their insightful, constructive and supportive comments on various drafts of the Review. Any mistakes or inaccuracies are, of course, the author’s own. Darren Thiel, February 2009 Contents PAGE Executive Summary 1 Introduction 5 Chapter
    [Show full text]
  • High Court Judgment Template
    Neutral Citation Number: [2020] EWHC 3458 (QB) Case No: HQ09X03608 IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE QUEEN'S BENCH DIVISION Royal Courts of Justice Strand, London, WC2A 2LL Date: 16/12/2020 Before: MR JUSTICE GARNHAM - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Between: RANGZIEB AHMED Claimant - and - (1) DIRECTOR GENERAL OF SECURITY SERVICE (2) CHIEF OF THE SECRET INTELLIGENCE SERVICE (3) SECRETARY OF STATE FOR FOREIGN, Defendants COMMONWEALTH AND DEVELOPMENT AFFAIRS (4) SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE HOME DEPARTMENT (5) HER MAJESTY'S ATTORNEY -GENERAL (6) CHIEF CONSTABLE OF GREATER MANCHESTER POLICE - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Richard Hermer QC and Joanna Buckley (instructed by Bhatt Murphy) for the Claimant Rory Phillips QC and Dan Pawson-Pounds (instructed by Government Legal Department) for the 1st - 5th Defendant Anne Whyte QC instructed by (Greater Manchester Police) for the 6th Defendant Hearing dates: 27th & 28th October 2020 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Approved Judgment Covid-19 Protocol: This judgment was handed down remotely by circulation to the parties’ representatives by email, release to BAILII and others, and publication on the Courts and Tribunals Judiciary website. The date and time for hand-down is deemed to be 10:00am on 16 December 2020. 1 MR JUSTICE GARNHAM Ahmed v DG SS and Ors Approved Judgment Mr Justice Garnham: Introduction 1. On 18 December 2008, in the Crown Court at Manchester, before Saunders J and a jury, Rangzieb Ahmed was convicted of a series of terrorist offences. Those offences included directing a terrorist organisation contrary to s.56 of the Terrorism Act 2000, membership of a terrorist organisation contrary to s.11 of that Act, and possession of terrorist articles contrary to s.57.
    [Show full text]
  • Islamic Radicalization in the Uk: Index of Radicalization
    ISLAMIC RADICALIZATION IN THE UK: INDEX OF RADICALIZATION Anna Wojtowicz, (Research Assistant, ICT) Sumer 2012 ABSTRACT The purpose of this paper is to analyze the process of radicalization amongst British Muslims in the United Kingdom. It begins with a review of the Muslim population, demographics and community structure. Further presenting several internal and external indicators that influenced and led to radicalization of Muslim youth in Britain. The paper concludes that there is no one certainty for what causes radicalization amongst Muslims in United Kingdom. However, it is certain that Islamic radicalization and the emergence of a homegrown threat is a growing trend that jeopardizes the countries security, peace and stability. Radicalization in the United Kingdom is an existing concern that needs to be addressed and acted upon immediately. Misunderstanding or underestimating the threat may lead to further and long term consequences. * The views expressed in this publication are solely those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism (ICT). 2 I. Introduction 4 II. Background 5 History of the Muslim Community in the United Kingdom 5 Population 7 Geographical Concentration of Muslims 8 Ethnic Background 10 Age Estimate 11 Occupation and Socio-Economic Conditions 11 Religious and Cultural Aspects 13 Multiculturalism 17 Islamophobia 20 Converts 21 Case Studies –London, Birmingham, Bradford, Leeds, Leicester 22 III. Organizations 28 Organizations within the United Kingdom 28 Mosques, Koranic Schools and Islamic Centers 34 Student Groups 40 Islamic Websites and TV 43 IV. Radicalization in Britain 43 Theoretical Background and Causes of Radicalization 43 Recruitment and Radicalization: Overlook 47 Radicalization Process 49 Forms of Financing 51 Radical Groups and Movements in the UK 53 Influential Leaders in the UK 60 Inspiration and Influence from Abroad 67 Sunni 67 Shia 70 3 V.
    [Show full text]
  • “Global War on Terror” Darryl Li
    Darryl Li / A Universal Enemy? DRAFT – 6 August 2009 A UNIVERSAL ENEMY?: LEGAL REGIMES OF EXCLUSION AND EXEMPTION UNDER THE “GLOBAL WAR ON TERROR” * DARRYL LI This essay argues that the ongoing U.S.-driven “Global War on Terror” stands apart from similar state campaigns in its special focus on confronting “foreign fighters” – armed transnational non-state Islamists operating outside their home countries – in places where the U.S. is no less foreign. This global hunt for foreign fighters animates diverse attempts to exclude similarly “out of place” Muslim migrants and travelers from legal protection by reshaping laws and policies on interrogation, detention, immigration, and citizenship. Yet at the same time, certain other outsiders – namely the U.S. and its allies – enjoy various forms of exemption from local legal accountability. This essay illustrates this braided logic of exclusion and exemption by juxtaposing the problems of extraordinary rendition and military contractor impunity in both post-war Bosnia- Herzegovina and post-invasion Iraq. This framework – which predates and will likely outlast the Bush administration – undermines the rule of law and state-building efforts and occludes crucial questions surrounding the legitimacy of how U.S. global power is exercised. This essay employs treaties, Bosnian, Iraqi, and U.S. statutes, cases, and regulations to reframe post-Cold War debates about nation-building and post-9/11 arguments about the laws of war. CONTENTS INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................... 1 I. FOREIGN FIGHTER, MUSLIM OUT OF PLACE, UNIVERSAL ENEMY: THE ENDURING LOGIC OF THE “GLOBAL WAR ON TERROR”.................................................................................... 5 A. The Foreign Fighter as Figure of Threat.................................................................... 8 B.
    [Show full text]
  • Digest of Terrorist Cases
    back to navigation page Vienna International Centre, PO Box 500, 1400 Vienna, Austria Tel.: (+43-1) 26060-0, Fax: (+43-1) 26060-5866, www.unodc.org Digest of Terrorist Cases United Nations publication Printed in Austria *0986635*V.09-86635—March 2010—500 UNITED NATIONS OFFICE ON DRUGS AND CRIME Vienna Digest of Terrorist Cases UNITED NATIONS New York, 2010 This publication is dedicated to victims of terrorist acts worldwide © United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, January 2010. The designations employed and the presentation of material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. This publication has not been formally edited. Publishing production: UNOV/DM/CMS/EPLS/Electronic Publishing Unit. “Terrorists may exploit vulnerabilities and grievances to breed extremism at the local level, but they can quickly connect with others at the international level. Similarly, the struggle against terrorism requires us to share experiences and best practices at the global level.” “The UN system has a vital contribution to make in all the relevant areas— from promoting the rule of law and effective criminal justice systems to ensuring countries have the means to counter the financing of terrorism; from strengthening capacity to prevent nuclear, biological, chemical, or radiological materials from falling into the
    [Show full text]
  • Exhibits Attached to Arguments on Admissibility, Declaration of Mohammed Abdullah Saleh Al-Asad, and Declaration of Zahra Ahmed Mohamed
    BEFORE THE AFRICAN COMMISSION FOR HUMAN & PEOPLES’ RIGHTS 49th ORDINARY SESSION: APRIL-MAY 2011 COMMUNICATION NO. 383/2010 In the matter between: MOHAMMED ABDULLAH SALEH AL-ASAD and DJIBOUTI EXHIBITS ATTACHED TO ARGUMENTS ON ADMISSIBILITY, DECLARATION OF MOHAMMED ABDULLAH SALEH AL-ASAD, AND DECLARATION OF ZAHRA AHMED MOHAMED EXHIBITS The United Republic of Tanzania Departure Declaration Card, 27 December 2003…….A Center for Human Rights and Global Justice, On the Record: U.S. Disclosures on Rendition, Secret Detention, and Coercive Interrogation (New York: NYU School of Law, 2008)………………………………………………………………………………..B Letter to the Attorney General of Djibouti, 31 March 2009…….….…..…….…….….…C United Nations Human Rights Council, 13th Session, Joint Study on Global Practices in Relation to Secret Detention in the Context of Countering Terrorism, U.N. Doc. A/HRC/13/42 (19 February 2010)………………………………………………………. D Republic v. Director of Immigration Services, ex parte Mohammed al-Asad (Habeas Corpus petition), High Court of Tanzania, 17 June 2004………………………………...E Amnesty International, United States of America: Below the radar- Secret flights to torture and ‘disappearance,’ 5 April 2006……………………………………………….F Prepared Remarks of Treasury Secretary John Snow to Announce Joint U.S. and Saudi Action Against Four Branches of Al-Haramain in the Financial War on Terror, JS-1107, 22 January 2004…………………………………………………………………………..G Henry Lyimo, Guardian (Dar es Salaam), Yemenis, Italians Expelled, 30 December 2003…………………………………………………………………………………...….H Roderick Ndomba, Daily News (Dar es Salaam), Dar Deports 2,367 Aliens, 30 December 2003……...……………………………..………………………………………………….I International Committee of the Red Cross, ICRC Report on the Treatment of Fourteen “High Value Detainees” in CIA Custody, 2007…………………………..……….……...J International Seismological Centre Earthquake Data…………………………………….K U.S.
    [Show full text]
  • NCTC Annex of the Country Reports on Terrorism 2008
    Country Reports on Terrorism 2008 April 2009 ________________________________ United States Department of State Publication Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism Released April 2009 Page | 1 Country Reports on Terrorism 2008 is submitted in compliance with Title 22 of the United States Code, Section 2656f (the ―Act‖), which requires the Department of State to provide to Congress a full and complete annual report on terrorism for those countries and groups meeting the criteria of the Act. COUNTRY REPORTS ON TERRORISM 2008 Table of Contents Chapter 1. Strategic Assessment Chapter 2. Country Reports Africa Overview Trans-Sahara Counterterrorism Partnership The African Union Angola Botswana Burkina Faso Burundi Comoros Democratic Republic of the Congo Cote D‘Ivoire Djibouti Eritrea Ethiopia Ghana Kenya Liberia Madagascar Mali Mauritania Mauritius Namibia Nigeria Rwanda Senegal Somalia South Africa Tanzania Uganda Zambia Zimbabwe Page | 2 East Asia and Pacific Overview Australia Burma Cambodia China o Hong Kong o Macau Indonesia Japan Republic of Korea (South Korea) Democratic People‘s Republic of Korea (North Korea) Laos Malaysia Micronesia, Federated States of Mongolia New Zealand Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, or Vanaatu Philippines Singapore Taiwan Thailand Europe Overview Albania Armenia Austria Azerbaijan Belgium Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Georgia Germany Greece Hungary Iceland Ireland Italy Kosovo Latvia Page | 3 Lithuania Macedonia Malta Moldova Montenegro
    [Show full text]
  • “File on 4” – “Torture by Facts?”
    BRITISH BROADCASTING CORPORATION RADIO 4 TRANSCRIPT OF “FILE ON 4” – “TORTURE BY FACTS?” CURRENT AFFAIRS GROUP TRANSMISSION: Tuesday 28th July 2009 2000 - 2040 REPEAT: Sunday 2nd August 2009 1700 - 1740 REPORTER: Stephen Grey PRODUCER: Ian Muir-Cochrane EDITOR: David Ross PROGRAMME NUMBER: 09VQ4555LH0 Downloaded from The Rendition Project www.therenditionproject.org.uk 1 THE ATTACHED TRANSCRIPT WAS TYPED FROM A RECORDING AND NOT COPIED FROM AN ORIGINAL SCRIPT. BECAUSE OF THE RISK OF MISHEARING AND THE DIFFICULTY IN SOME CASES OF IDENTIFYING INDIVIDUAL SPEAKERS, THE BBC CANNOT VOUCH FOR ITS COMPLETE ACCURACY. “FILE ON 4” Transmission: Tuesday 28th July 2009 Repeat: Sunday 2nd August 2009 Producer: Ian Muir-Cochrane Reporter: Stephen Grey Editor: David Ross MADNI: They put me in handcuffs and shackles and then they take me to plane, the CIA aircraft. Inside the aircraft they put me inside a box, was like a wood box, I was can’t move my body because the shackle was very tight and was very painful. GREY: This man says Britain was complicit in his extraordinary rendition. Others who’ve been tortured also claim a British connection. BINYAM: The interrogator was actually bringing in files and saying, ‘This is the British file.’ We spent months and months just answering questions from these files that were coming in from the UK. GREY: Tonight File on 4 asks if the British Government really was complicit in the torture of terrorist suspects and if British ministers should have spoken out sooner. Do you think in hindsight that the right degree of attention was paid to these matters? GOLDSMITH: Well, I, I, I … Well I took a bit of a different view on some of these issues, maybe to have been stronger in our condemnation of some of the things that had taken place might have been a good thing to do, for example, about treatment of detainees.
    [Show full text]
  • Islamist Terrorism Analysis of Offences and Attacks in the Uk (1998-2015)
    ISLAMIST TERRORISM ANALYSIS OF OFFENCES AND ATTACKS IN THE UK (1998-2015) Hannah Stuart Islamist Terrorism Analysis of Offences and Attacks in the UK (1998-2015) Hannah Stuart Previous editions by Robin Simcox | Hannah Stuart | Houriya Ahmed | Douglas Murray Research assistance by Andrew Day | Lewis Barton | Emma Webb | Rupert Sutton Published in 2017 by The Henry Jackson Society The Henry Jackson Society Millbank Tower 21-24 Millbank London, SW1P 4QP Registered charity no. 1140489 Tel: +44 (0) 20 7340 4520 www.henryjacksonsociety.org ©The Henry Jackson Society All rights reserved The views expressed in this publication are those of the author and are not necessarily indicative of those of The Henry Jackson Society or its Trustees Islamist Terrorism: Analysis of Offences and Attacks in the UK (1998–2015) By Hannah Stuart ISBN 978-1-909035-27-0 All rights reserved About the author Hannah Stuart is a Senior Research Fellow at The Henry Jackson Society where her work focuses on Islamism- inspired extremism, terrorism and jihadist ideology as well as religious law and the role of religion in the public sphere. Hannah has advised government officials, MPs and other relevant stakeholders and has given evidence to relevant Home Affairs Select Committee inquiries, and her research and ideas have informed counter- radicalisation policy. She has extensive broadcast media experience and has written analysis for the Wall Street Journal, The Times, Foreign Policy, Current Trends in Islamist Ideology and the Guardian, among others. Hannah has a MA in International Studies and Diplomacy (with Distinction) from the School of Oriental and African Studies, and a BA in English Literature from the University of Bristol.
    [Show full text]
  • Allegations of UK Complicity in Torture
    House of Lords House of Commons Joint Committee on Human Rights Allegations of UK Complicity in Torture Twenty–third Report of Session 2008–09 Report, together with formal minutes and oral and written evidence Ordered by the House of Lords to be printed 21 July 2009 Ordered by the House of Commons to be printed 21 July 2009 HL Paper 152 HC 230 Published on 4 August 2009 by authority of the House of Commons London: The Stationery Office Limited £0.00 Joint Committee on Human Rights The Joint Committee on Human Rights is appointed by the House of Lords and the House of Commons to consider matters relating to human rights in the United Kingdom (but excluding consideration of individual cases); proposals for remedial orders, draft remedial orders and remedial orders. The Joint Committee has a maximum of six Members appointed by each House, of whom the quorum for any formal proceedings is two from each House. Current membership HOUSE OF LORDS HOUSE OF COMMONS Lord Bowness John Austin MP (Labour, Erith & Thamesmead) Lord Dubs Mr Andrew Dismore MP (Labour, Hendon) (Chairman) Lord Lester of Herne Hill Dr Evan Harris MP (Liberal Democrat, Oxford West & Lord Morris of Handsworth OJ Abingdon) The Earl of Onslow Mr Virendra Sharma MP (Labour, Ealing, Southall) Baroness Prashar Mr Richard Shepherd MP (Conservative, Aldridge-Brownhills) Mr Edward Timpson MP (Conservative, Crewe & Nantwich) Powers The Committee has the power to require the submission of written evidence and documents, to examine witnesses, to meet at any time (except when Parliament is prorogued or dissolved), to adjourn from place to place, to appoint specialist advisers, and to make Reports to both Houses.
    [Show full text]